Is it ultra-processed?
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Is Perdue Panko Chicken Nuggets ultra-processed?

Chicken nuggets Sold in the United States

Pack of Perdue Panko Chicken Nuggets

Yes, it's ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

  • 18 ingredients
  • 1 additive
  • Nutri-Score C

Less processed chicken nuggets

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

Boneless Chicken Breast with Rib Meat, Water, Wheat Flour, Yellow Corn Flour, Contains 2% and Less of Salt, Dextrose, Sugar, Yeast, Corn Starch, Spices, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Natural Extractives of Paprika, Natural Flavors, Yeast Extract, Guar Gum, Dried Garlic, Dried Onion

Additives: E412 Guar gum

As written on the pack

Boneless Chicken Breast with Rib Meat, Water, Wheat Flour, Yellow Corn Flour. Contains 2% or Less of Salt, Dextrose, Sugar, Yeast, Corn Starch, Spices, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Natural Extractives of Paprika, Natural Flavors, Yeast Extract, Guar Gum, Dried Garlic, Dried Onion.

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • E412 Guar gum Guar gum is a thickener ground from the seeds of the guar plant.
  • Flavouring Flavourings are concentrated aroma preparations that add or intensify a taste.

Substances rarely used in home kitchens

Refined or extracted in factories, such as syrups made from starch or isolated proteins. The other hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • Dextrose Dextrose is pure glucose crystallised from starch-derived syrup.
  • Glucose Glucose, usually listed as glucose syrup, is cheap, keeps products moist and stops sugar from crystallising.
2 ingredients that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 53 chicken nuggets

From least to most processed, this one ranks 39th. 87% of the chicken nuggets here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

All 53 chicken nuggets, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 0072745804236, last edited 8 August 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
  • NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.